Boks are down – but not out
BRAIN GIVES BRAWN A RUGBY LESSON
DOES size count?
This arguable question was answered with a decisive NO on Saturday night when Japan pulled off a shock win over the Springboks.
The favourites went into their opening Rugby World Cup encounter against Japan expecting to brush them aside with brawn but they got embarrassed by brain.
This was clear from the outset when they had a kickable penalty to go three up but chose to kick for touch and use brute force to push over for the try.
Japan responded by defending bravely and took every chance they had to put points on the board. At no time did South Africa dominate the match or show any promise of stepping up a gear and hammering a resounding victory.
Going into the half time break, the Springboks had a narrow 12-10 lead and one would have expected them regroup, rethink and re-strategise to play to their potential in the second stanza.
However, this was not to be as they showed absolutely no creativity nor urgency.
Japan even came up with an unusual rolling grubber kick to start proceedings in the second half and within three minutes had regained the lead with another penalty.
Lood de Jager then gave Springbok supporters something to cheer about when he stretched his long legs to dot down and tie the match at 19 apiece.
It was only in the 55th minute that the Springboks realised some urgency to put points on the board was needed, and they took the penalty on offer rather than kick for touch. Reality had set in but it was a tad too late.
For me the game was doomed from the start when they opted to use their power to push over for a try instead of accumulating points.
However, a turning point was when they eventually had the opportunity to use their strength and score a try from a line-out deep in Japan’s half, but instead decided to go for the blindside. This showed that by this time the Springboks were at sixes and sevens.
With two minutes to go and South Africa defending a narrow three point lead, Japan showed initiative and opted to scrum rather than kick for goal and share the spoils, and this paid off when they registered a famous victory.
Now what do we make of this result?
With the Springboks definitely on the back foot, they are down but not out.
The only hope is that this embarrassing loss serves as the catalyst to spur the team on to play to their full potential. Otherwise, we’re in for an early exit.
On the other hand, Japan is an emerging nation in the world of rugby. With the country due to host the next World Cup and its rugby leagues growing at a rapid rate, this victory was just what they needed to inject pride and a love for the game back home.
We’ve heard the story of how a mother can find the strength to lift a car if her child is underneath. Similarly, Japan found the strength to defeat the giants in the game. As an emerging rugby nation… good luck to them.
Now Heyneke Meyer and his Bok squad need to dig deep and restore the nation’s faith in their chances of becoming the first country to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy for the third time. A highly unlikely outcome, but there is still hope.